You should divide your book into 5 equal sections. For example, if your book has 100 pages, you should have five 20 page sections. You should read the appropriate section for each meeting.
Requirements:
PERSON A - GROUP LEADER - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER - This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.
Groups will decide appropriate penalties for group members who fail to uphold their responsibilities.
Shaylyn (summarizer)
Oskar is a 12 year old boy living in a suburban town. He has a next door neighbor, which he met for a little bit. He wants to become close with this new neighbor. He gets bullied a lot in school. So he is hoping to become friends with his new neighbor. In the beginning of the book, it starts out as two police officers that find a bag of something in it. They found the bag in Vallingby. The officers begin to think it is heroin.
Oskar knows what is inside the bag that the policeman found. Oskar tells the police officer that inside the bag is heroin. Oskar gets beat up by Jonny. He gets beat up by Jonny because his brother does heroin, and by Oskar telling the police, it will get Jonny in trouble. Meanwhile, Oskar notices strange things happening to his new neighbor.
Nikki (Key Questioner)
Who is Gunnar Holberg and what was he holding up?
Gunnar Holmberg is the police commissioner from Vallingby. He found a bag of Herion and was questioning a crowd of kids.
Who told Gunnar Holmberg what was inside the bag and who tried to fight him after?
Oskar told the policeman what was inside the bag and then Jonny Forsberg tried to beat him up because his brother does herion and he runs with the drug crowd.
Joey- Quotation finder- " There are so many crazy people in the world."
"yeah."
NOTE: If your book club has three members, the roles B and C should be combined; if your book club has five members, two students should take the role of C (5 questions each).
Week One: October 1
Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (A)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Week Two: October 8
Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Group quotations.Ronan
"The word came to him like divine inspiration. Like when someone says the word "god" for the first time and really means...God"
"He turned to start walking up to the restaurant, consumed by his fantasies of a new life, the new start he was in the process of making, when he felt the pain in his throat. What the $#@!? It felt like a bee-sting and his left hand wanted to go up and wave it away, examine it. But he couldn't drop the child."
Nikki (group summarizer)
We discussed how sometimes the book was confusing. It switches off point of views and sometimes you lose your place in the story. We figured out the sequence of events and caught everybody up. Some people thought the story isn't that hard to read but others think it's more difficult. It's hard to keep up with the story sometimes because of the language and the way the writer wrote the story.
Shaylyn (Group Leader) We discussed that the book was a little confusing at parts because the way it is written is a little mature for us to read. We each discussed what parts we were confused about. We each read up to page 110. Nikki was the summarizer. Joey was the Key Questioner and Ronan was the Quotation Finder.
Week Three: October 15
Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Summarizer- Joey
We discussed how were all starting to understand the story more instead of being more confused like last week. We all discussed questions and talked about the story. We also talked about how the book has so many turns and twists that make you want to keep reading the book.
Key Questions-Ronan
1) In what way did Oskar and Eli decide to communicate. How will this effect their relationship?
They decided to talk through the walls between their houses using morse code. I think it will strengthen their relationship and make them better friends
2)Why didn't Eli bite Oskar?
She didn't bite him because she liked him and i think she really wanted to be friends with him.
3) Why does Hakan through acid on his face?
He does this so the police don't find him.
4) Why does Oskar decide to go to strength training?
He hopes if he gets stronger he won't get beat up anymore.
5
Shaylyn (Quotation Finder)
1. "She talked funny too, like a grown-up. Maybe she was older than him, even though she was so puny. -This is foreshadowing because you can tell see that the girl is different. And even though we haven't found out that she is a vampire, you can tell that she is not a normal kid.
2. "He noticed that her hair was caked together and fell around her face in matted tufts and clumps. As if she had put glue or... mud in it. - This shows how different the girl is and that Oskar is just realizing how different and how she is not like other kids in the town.
3. "Little sweetheart, you are all I have, if something happens to you, I would die. -This is important because something bad DOES happen to Oskar.
4. "I'm tired of the bullying" - Oskar is tired getting harrassed and will do something to stop it.
Week Four: October 22
Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Shaylyn (Question)
1. How does Eli become a vampire?
- Eli is laid out on a table and castrated then turned into a vampire by a vampire he refers to as the "vampire lord". It never says why the vampire lord transformed him, and never says what happened to the vampire lord. Eli lets Oskar see what happened in a vision.
2. Is Oskar going to tell people about Eli
- No, Oskar promised Eli that he would tell no one and he is going to keep that promise.
3. When Eli turned into a vampire, what was her reaction?
- She flipped out, telling Oskar to leave the room and never come back. Otherwise, she would kill him.
4. What worried Oskar?
- that people would find out
Week Five: October 29 (LAST MEETING)
Topic: Responding to the Text (section 5 out of 5 of your text)
Shaylyn( summarizer)
We talked about how the book is getting really good and how it is starting to have a weird twist to it. Oskar and Eli are becoming really close friends.
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Book Club Schedule
You should divide your book into 5 equal sections. For example, if your book has 100 pages, you should have five 20 page sections. You should read the appropriate section for each meeting.Requirements:
Groups will decide appropriate penalties for group members who fail to uphold their responsibilities.
Shaylyn (summarizer)
Oskar is a 12 year old boy living in a suburban town. He has a next door neighbor, which he met for a little bit. He wants to become close with this new neighbor. He gets bullied a lot in school. So he is hoping to become friends with his new neighbor. In the beginning of the book, it starts out as two police officers that find a bag of something in it. They found the bag in Vallingby. The officers begin to think it is heroin.
Oskar knows what is inside the bag that the policeman found. Oskar tells the police officer that inside the bag is heroin. Oskar gets beat up by Jonny. He gets beat up by Jonny because his brother does heroin, and by Oskar telling the police, it will get Jonny in trouble. Meanwhile, Oskar notices strange things happening to his new neighbor.
Nikki (Key Questioner)
Who is Gunnar Holberg and what was he holding up?
Gunnar Holmberg is the police commissioner from Vallingby. He found a bag of Herion and was questioning a crowd of kids.
Who told Gunnar Holmberg what was inside the bag and who tried to fight him after?
Oskar told the policeman what was inside the bag and then Jonny Forsberg tried to beat him up because his brother does herion and he runs with the drug crowd.
Joey- Quotation finder- " There are so many crazy people in the world."
"yeah."
NOTE: If your book club has three members, the roles B and C should be combined; if your book club has five members, two students should take the role of C (5 questions each).
Week One: October 1
Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (A)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Week Two: October 8
Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Group quotations.Ronan
"The word came to him like divine inspiration. Like when someone says the word "god" for the first time and really means...God"
"He turned to start walking up to the restaurant, consumed by his fantasies of a new life, the new start he was in the process of making, when he felt the pain in his throat. What the $#@!? It felt like a bee-sting and his left hand wanted to go up and wave it away, examine it. But he couldn't drop the child."
Nikki (group summarizer)
We discussed how sometimes the book was confusing. It switches off point of views and sometimes you lose your place in the story. We figured out the sequence of events and caught everybody up. Some people thought the story isn't that hard to read but others think it's more difficult. It's hard to keep up with the story sometimes because of the language and the way the writer wrote the story.
Shaylyn (Group Leader)
We discussed that the book was a little confusing at parts because the way it is written is a little mature for us to read. We each discussed what parts we were confused about. We each read up to page 110. Nikki was the summarizer. Joey was the Key Questioner and Ronan was the Quotation Finder.
Week Three: October 15
Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Summarizer- Joey
We discussed how were all starting to understand the story more instead of being more confused like last week. We all discussed questions and talked about the story. We also talked about how the book has so many turns and twists that make you want to keep reading the book.
Key Questions-Ronan
1) In what way did Oskar and Eli decide to communicate. How will this effect their relationship?
They decided to talk through the walls between their houses using morse code. I think it will strengthen their relationship and make them better friends
2)Why didn't Eli bite Oskar?
She didn't bite him because she liked him and i think she really wanted to be friends with him.
3) Why does Hakan through acid on his face?
He does this so the police don't find him.
4) Why does Oskar decide to go to strength training?
He hopes if he gets stronger he won't get beat up anymore.
5
Shaylyn (Quotation Finder)
1. "She talked funny too, like a grown-up. Maybe she was older than him, even though she was so puny. -This is foreshadowing because you can tell see that the girl is different. And even though we haven't found out that she is a vampire, you can tell that she is not a normal kid.
2. "He noticed that her hair was caked together and fell around her face in matted tufts and clumps. As if she had put glue or... mud in it. - This shows how different the girl is and that Oskar is just realizing how different and how she is not like other kids in the town.
3. "Little sweetheart, you are all I have, if something happens to you, I would die. -This is important because something bad DOES happen to Oskar.
4. "I'm tired of the bullying" - Oskar is tired getting harrassed and will do something to stop it.
Week Four: October 22
Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page
Shaylyn (Question)
1. How does Eli become a vampire?
- Eli is laid out on a table and castrated then turned into a vampire by a vampire he refers to as the "vampire lord". It never says why the vampire lord transformed him, and never says what happened to the vampire lord. Eli lets Oskar see what happened in a vision.
2. Is Oskar going to tell people about Eli
- No, Oskar promised Eli that he would tell no one and he is going to keep that promise.
3. When Eli turned into a vampire, what was her reaction?
- She flipped out, telling Oskar to leave the room and never come back. Otherwise, she would kill him.
4. What worried Oskar?
- that people would find out
Week Five: October 29 (LAST MEETING)
Topic: Responding to the Text (section 5 out of 5 of your text)
Shaylyn( summarizer)
We talked about how the book is getting really good and how it is starting to have a weird twist to it. Oskar and Eli are becoming really close friends.
Assignment:
1. On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? (B)
2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques.
3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page